“You will soon realise that brave Punjabis are not afraid of threats of jail terms and political vendetta...it’s you who will face jail term on charges of defamation,” said Majithia in a statement issued here on Friday.

Majithia said Kejriwal, who had behaved more like a “Natwar Lal” during his one-year tenure in Delhi, should realise that Punjabis had always risen up against oppressors and forces who had tried to dominate them. “If Kejriwal thinks he can scare me, the SAD or the people of Punjab by such intimidating tactics, he is living in a fool’s paradise”, the minister said.

Accusing Kejriwal of levelling false and unfounded allegations against him, Majithia said: “We are not living in a banana republic. The allegations made by you were also made earlier by a number of political leaders and dismissed by the honourable courts. By levelling the same allegations, you seem to be challenging the judgment of the courts and trying to cast a shadow on the same.”

“Are you ready to do this for your narrow selfish interests”, he said while asking the AAP leader if he had faith in the judiciary or not.

“You will have to prove what you said or face a jail term as a common criminal as per the law of the land,” he added. The SAD leader said Kejriwal should prove his charges or quit politics.